


Ready To Go Right Now

by CycloneRachel



Category: Green Lantern (Comics), Legion of Super Heroes (TV)
Genre: (in a lot of these), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brainy/Clark is in later fics, Gen, Kaja is also in later fics, M/M, One Shot Collection, also these are LOSH tv-verse unless otherwise stated, content varies so it really depends on the minific, with of course heavy influence from the out of time arc in GLs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2019-07-05 00:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15852714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CycloneRachel/pseuds/CycloneRachel
Summary: A collection of one-shots and minifics centered on Querl Dox as a Green Lantern.(Some are a follow-up to No Connection, others are not but still involve that central concept)





	1. No Connection Epilogue

Querl stood at his window, staring as the light from outside got closer to him. Realizing, after a while, that it really was coming towards him, on purpose.

And, at the center of the light, there was… something. He couldn’t discern what it was, yet, but he knew the light was emanating from it, and it was going to collide with his window at any moment.

He braced himself for impact, crouching to the ground and covering his head with his arms, right before the crash happened.

Then, it spoke.

 _Querl Dox, of Colu._ It said, as Querl slowly got to his feet, looking at the object- a ring, not unlike his own. But this one was completely green, and had a different symbol on it, and Querl couldn’t resist the urge to reach out to it, feeling the warm light that it had brought him. It gave him strength, and suddenly he was no longer worried about whatever might happen to him after he left the Legion, without Clark being there to support him.

 _You have the ability to overcome great fear,_ the ring continued. _There is a great crisis in the universe. You are needed._

 _A great crisis that I caused,_ Querl silently added. But the ring likely already knew that.

Querl nodded, and the ring attached itself to him, transforming his outfit into something completely new- the pajamas were replaced with a black and green jumpsuit, the green symbol from the ring where the Brainiac symbol had been before on his uniform. The Legion belt was still around his waist, and he wore green gloves now, covering his hands- one of which bore his old ring, the other with the new one on it. It felt like he was wearing nothing, but he knew somehow that this new uniform would serve just as well as the previous one.

“Take me somewhere that will show me where you come from.” Querl said. “I need to know _everything._ ”

He felt the ring lifting him upwards, and suddenly he was flying- to somewhere not even he knew about.

~

He’d only barely gotten to look at the mausoleum, after landing in it following a flight that seemed like an eternity ( _whether it was from the sheer distance or the uncertainties plaguing his mind, he didn’t know_ ), when he heard a noise behind him: A great lumbering figure, moving into the light where Querl could fully see who- or what- he was.

“I have not been here in many centuries.” The figure said. His voice sounded old, though Querl guessed that was an understatement, and there was an element of threat in it.

“But just as I am… there is an intruder! Ha, what luck I have! And _you_ are no match for Tyran’r the Mighty…”

“Go ahead.” Querl said, raising his hands in surrender. “I have nothing to lose anymore.”

Querl stepped forward, so this Tyran’r person could see him. And all at once, his behavior changed.

“You… you have _her_ symbol.” He said, voice hushed, eyes drawn first to Querl’s forehead, and then the green emblem on his new uniform.

Querl, for once, looked confused as he spoke.

“The only symbol I possess is that of my family- some of the worst criminals in the galaxy, if not the universe. What… what do you know about it?”

“It… belonged to a friend.”

“I’m sorry, with all due respect, I am certain you must be mistaken. I have no idea why someone like you would befriend a Brainiac…”

Tyran’r noticed the kid’s voice hitch, at that word. He didn’t know how old he was, but for some reason he felt a strong urge to protect him.

“Not a Brainiac.” Tyran’r insisted. “I don’t know what that means. But you have the symbol of Kaja Dox.”

That caught Querl off-guard. Since he’d adopted his family’s title, their family name now seemed foreign to him- even after abandoning it once he became human. And he found it odd that, after everything he’d done, there was a person in the universe who wasn’t familiar with the Brainiacs.

“My… my name is Querl Dox.” He said, trembling. “Who is Kaja?”

Tyran’r sat down, and patted a spot next to him on the stone stair.

“Come sit. I’ll tell you.”

Querl didn’t move.

“I thought you wanted to attack me.”

“Not now. After seeing your ring, and your symbol…I can’t.”

Querl cautiously took a step forward. Then, before he knew it, he’d taken another, and then was sitting down beside him.


	2. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (takes place during that last minific? right before Querl leaves the Legion headquarters)

“You really think I’m worthy of this?” Querl asks, holding up his new ring. “After seeing the effect I had on the universe?”

“The ring doesn’t make any mistakes, right?” Imra answers. While he’d tried to sneak out of the Legion headquarters, undetected, she had ended up catching him in the act. He was annoyed, at first, when she wouldn’t let him go ( _nobody would miss him, his departure wouldn’t matter_ ) but now he was grateful for her counsel.

“I do not believe so.” Querl says. “From what I’ve read of the Green Lantern Corps, all of the ring-bearers were chosen for a reason…”

Imra sets her hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it in reassurance. “Then you have nothing to worry about.” She says. “Just relax. Do you remember when you first joined the Legion?”

“Of course.”

“Then try to channel some of those emotions into this. You were overwhelmed back then, but you quickly adjusted to living on Earth, and being with us in your new team. And now you get to do that all over again.”

Querl slowly nods, but still has to disagree with her.

“But this time, I will be alone.”

“You’ll never be alone.” She says, gathering him into a hug. “You always have us. And I’m sure you’ll meet a lot of new people, up there.”

She pulls back, gesturing to the sky, and Querl feels himself smiling.

“What’s the universe going to think?” he asks. “A Brainiac, as a Green Lantern… it seems ridiculous.”

“I’ve worked with you long enough to tell you’re one of the bravest people I know.” Imra says. “And I hope the universe will be able to see that. Brainiac or not.”

“Thank you.” Querl says. “So, may I leave now?”

“You’re excused.” Imra answers. “And good luck.”


	3. Monachopsis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monachopsis, definition: the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> could be connected to No Connection, but doesn't have to be.

Brainy thought things would be different, after he got the ring.

Now that he had a mask to cover his face and real powers again, he’d believed his situation would improve. He was still a hero, wasn’t he? He’d saved the universe. That should’ve counted for something.

Then again, he _had_ saved it from himself. And as he’d learned, he’d created a new problem.

So he ran. He ran from the disgusted looks people had given him, the disdain people spoke his name with.

And he ended up at the edge of the known universe, in the Vault of Shadows.


	4. New Costume

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An alternate take from No Connection! Set after LOSH season 2, so Brainy's still humanoid, but he gets the ring while Clark is there, not after he leaves like in that fic.
> 
> prompt from Tumblr user peskyshortcake: "Idea: Brainy as a human wanting a new costume, and Clark trying to help him design a new one." which I of course sidestepped because hey maybe he didn't design it at all.

“I guess I’ve just gotten tired of this costume, after wearing it for so long. And it would be good to find something that’d reflect the…change that’s happened to me.” Brainy confessed.

“Of course.” Clark answered. “My cousin has a friend who could make a new one, maybe I could bring him he-“

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound, and a green glow coming through the window, focusing in on Brainy.

“Querl Dox, of Colu.” Came a voice, and Brainy could now see a ring in the middle of the glow. He stared at it, as the voice continued to speak.

“You have the ability to overcome great fear. There is a great crisis in the universe. You are needed.” It said. Brainy put the ring on, slowly, and soon he was wearing a black-and-green outfit, a mask over his eyes and (thankfully) covering up the symbol on his forehead.

“…I guess we don’t need to worry about finding you a new costume anymore.” Said Clark.

Brainy was still quiet. 

“Yes.” Was his only response.


	5. Alternate Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which the first time Kara meets Brainy is when he’s accidentally sent back in time while fighting some villain as a Green Lantern! obviously written before 3x10.

As soon as Kara can get a good look at him, her eyes light up in excitement.

“Oh, my god! I’ve always wanted to meet one of you guys!” she exclaims, eagerly shaking his hand.

“One of us guys.” he repeats, slightly confused.

“Yeah. A Green Lantern. My cousin’s told me all about you, and I read about your organization on Krypton.”

“Your cousin… Oh. Yes. Of course.” he says, eyes flickering to her chest emblem.

“My eyes are up here, dude.” she says, and he immediately looks back up at her. “Anyway, you’re guarding sector 2814, right?”

“Yes. How did you know that?”

“You are in the area. So, which one are you? Clark told me your names, but almost nothing otherwise.”

“I-”

“No, wait, let me guess. Hal? No, never mind, I think he’s on Barry’s Earth. Guy? Kyle? Alan, maybe? Simon? Hmm… can’t be John or Jessica, probably…”

“As you might say, Kara Zor-El, I am none of the above.”

She looked at him in surprise as he said her true name, and was even more surprised when he took off his mask.

“I am Querl Dox, formerly Brainiac 5, but my friends usually call me “Brainy”. I am the Green Lantern assigned to sector 2814, in the 31st century, even though I was not born here. And, judging by seeing you, I am in the wrong time period.“

“And?”

“I am going to need your help to return home.”


	6. Crossing Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> an extra-long chapter featuring Winn accidentally ending up in the LOSH TV show universe, and meeting that Brainy!  
> (also I'm not entirely sure what number universe this would be. I think Earth 6 may be available? because that show debuted in 2006. or Earth 12, because it first aired 12 years ago. either is good)

“What the _hell_.” Winn breathed, looking around once he’d come to a stop.

He’d just wanted to borrow Kara’s universe-hopping device for one day. One day, to visit that Cisco guy Kara had mentioned- just to see whether they were really as similar as she’d said.

And Kara had obliged, just like he thought she would.

But he’d gotten curious, like an idiot, and went through several different universes after his trip to Earth-1.

So he had somehow ended up in this one.

It was unmistakably the future, all orange-pink skies and train lines above the streets and buildings that didn’t seem like they were architecturally possible.

And in the middle of it all was a building with a very familiar symbol on it.

The symbol belonging to a group that could help him figure out where he was, and what exactly he’d have to do to get home.

After all, if they could time travel, they surely knew about traveling to alternate dimensions, right?

~

He didn’t really see anything special about the building he’d teleported to.

Sure, the architecture was a little bit weird, and he hadn’t seen any windows or anything. And it seemed to be completely abandoned, nobody in sight, though it was clearly being used for something.

But he worked at the DEO, and he’d been to another planet, and aboard the Legion ship. This was nothing, as far as Winn was concerned.

And then he saw the chair, and the symbol that was clearly visible in the main room.

Suddenly, everything clicked.

“Oh, my god. I’m in the future. I’m in the 31st century, and this is the Legion headquarters. Oh my god. They can help me get home. This is too perfect. I’m going to get to see the future! I’m in the freaking future! This is the new coolest thing that’s ever happened to me!”

He didn’t notice he was speaking out loud until a figure clothed in green and black entered the headquarters, with several others following him.

“Excuse me, how did you get past security?”

Winn stared. The figure seemed familiar, yet he couldn’t place his name.

“I didn’t know you had security. I randomly ended up here, I was just trying to get to Earth-1…”

The figure turned to someone else, a woman wearing pink and white.

“Imra, could you identify our visitor for us? See if he’s telling the truth?”

She nodded, and Winn only registered her name in his mind before it went blank, a sense of calm going through him as he stared at her.

“He is. This is Winslow Schott Jr., of the _21st_ century. Close personal friend of Supergirl, and agent of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations.”

“We also call ourselves the DEO.” Winn pointed out, once he regained focus. “And…You can read minds!”

“You’re surprised by this?”

Winn nodded. “Yeah. You can’t do that on my Earth.”

“…Your Earth.”

“It’s a long story.”

“You can tell it to us later.”

“Does that mean I can stay?” Winn asked, excited.

“For now.” Said the figure in green, and Winn’s the most curious about him. He’s the only one among them wearing a mask, and Winn can’t help but think he’s hiding something.

“Great!” Winn said, a little bit too happy, then turned to that person specifically.

“So, who are you?” he asked.

The other man froze in place, and Imra gave him a look.

“It’s okay.” She said. “We can trust him.”

The man nodded, and Winn gulped as he removed the mask, Winn soon staring into green eyes. But there was a symbol on his head that Winn found just as familiar as Imra’s name.

 _Dammit,_ he thought. _I should’ve guessed._

Winn’s mouth hung open for a moment, before he closed it.

“H-hi, Brainy.” He said.

This Brainy, if he had to admit it, looked way better than the one on his Earth. Blonde, green skin, green eyes, white symbol like a birthmark on his face, wearing a green and black uniform with an unknown symbol on it… he almost wished the two Brainys could switch places.

Winn smiled, seeing that he’d left Brainy speechless, and it took Imra giving him another look to get him to speak again.

“I’ll…I will show you to a guest room.”

“I’d like that.” Winn said, and stood up to follow him.  
~

“I have so many questions.” Winn said, following Brainy as he (reluctantly) led him on a tour of his Legion’s headquarters.

Brainy looked back at him, giving him an amused smile.

“Well, it is a good thing that I have access to a large depository of knowledge.” He answered. “Although… unfortunately, not as much as I used to, since being cut off from- that is not important.”

“Damn, now I want to know.” Winn said.

“No.” Brainy answered quickly. Winn shut up, but remembered what he was about to say.

“So…why’s the sky that color here?”

“Environmental changes in the past thousand years. Not much information is known about the phenomenon, it was lost after a great crisis.”

“We had that on our Earth, too.” Winn grumbled. “Apparently. Also, why are you green instead of blue?”

“My species- the Coluans- are this color, where I come from.”

 _Of course you are_. Winn thought. _And of course you have to be cuter here than on my Earth._

“Why’s Imra a telepath?”

“That is the natural ability of those who were born on her planet.”

“Have you met Supergirl?”

Brainy turned, looking at him in surprise.

“I… I would have liked to. But we have not had a mission yet where it was necessary to recruit her. However, I have worked with Superman, and his clone.”

He returned to a forward-facing position too quickly for Winn to see, but he could’ve sworn Brainy was blushing when he said Superman’s name.

“Cool. Cool cool cool cool cool.” Winn said. “Um. What’s the symbol on your uniform? I know it can’t be the Legion symbol, because I’ve seen that on my Earth. So-“

“It’s the sigil of the Green Lanterns.” Brainy said. “The organization to which I belong. It’s- we are essentially an intergalactic peace-keeping force. We draw our strength from willpower, and channel it into energy constructs, created by our rings. I am one of the Green Lanterns for this sector, and as it includes Earth, I only found it logical to continue my work with the Legion while also remaining a member of the Green Lantern Corps.”

“So, space-cops.” Winn answered. “Awesome.”

“Yes, Winslow, there are many ways to say the same thing.”

 _Even this Brainy uses my full name,_ Winn thought with a sigh. _Guess some things never change._

“Last question. Do you really think you’re going to be able to get me home?”

Brainy thought for a while, before answering.

“We will do our best.”

“Thanks.”

Winn could only think of how everyone else was dealing with his disappearance. He wondered if they even missed him, or noticed he was gone.

The idea that they might not have wasn’t cheering him up.


	7. Anniversary part 1: Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy anniversary of the Green Lanterns #31 release date!

Querl had started his journey as a Green Lantern in the Vault of Shadows, staring up at the coffins that held the bodies of 6 original Green Lanterns- his own ancestor among them.

It was there that he learned from Tyran’r, the last one standing, training under him and hearing firsthand about everything his new ring could do, from someone who’d once held that power in his hands. It was a pleasure, getting to learn something entirely new and different, to explore a realm he’d only heard about before, far removed from any real experiences.

Now he was fully entrenched in it, slowly testing out more of his abilities until he considered himself an expert with the ring, and he knew he still had more to try, using his powers to fight evil just as he’d done with the Legion, what felt like forever ago.

He and Tyran’r had gone out on missions, sure, but those were just trials, and his real tests were before him. And it was only fitting that, once he felt as though he was coming to the conclusion of his training, Tyran’r’s story came to its conclusion.

“What’s happening?” Querl asked, seeing the ancient Tamaranean’s body start to give out. “I- I thought…”

“I was supposed to last another thousand years.” Tyran’r said. “I wasn’t meant to live this long, but I was given more time- and now, it’s running out.”

“There has to be something I can do.” Querl said. “Maybe I could give you my ring, that would help- or- I could build something, that’ll extend your life, we just need to find supplies. Or… or…”

Tyran’r placed a hand on his shoulder, and Querl looked into his eyes.

“Kid.” He said. “I’ve lived over ten billion years. I’ve seen a lot of things, and been through even more- but I think the best was when I got that ring, and saw I could be more than the common thief I thought I was. And you told me once that you felt lost, after becoming human- and that the ring helped you, too. Gave you a sense of purpose. Just like Kaja.”

Querl smiled, at the mention of his long-gone ancestress- that he would never have known about if he hadn’t received his ring, all that time before.

“Kaja achieved greatness, after she lost her ring- but really, that potential was in her all along.” Tyran’r continued. “And that potential is in you, too. But you’re just getting started, and I believe you can be an even better Lantern, with all that you’ve gone through. Don’t stop fighting, Querl- and don’t lose what got you that ring in the first place.”

Tyran’r lightly tapped Querl’s chest, indicating his heart, and then his eyes closed, as Querl felt the life start to go out of him.

Querl held him there the whole time, and once the Tamaranean lost consciousness, his head dropped onto his body, and he began to cry.

He was ready for the rest of his journey, he knew. He had the training, and he’d had the best possible mentor the universe could give him- that, at that moment, the universe apparently saw fit to take away. But now, he felt as though this was a message for him.

 _Go home, Querl._ He thought. _Be a Legionnaire, and a Lantern. You know you can do it._

At that time, however, all he wanted to do was sit there, and mourn.

Then, finally, he would move his body into the last coffin, and the first Green Lanterns’ lights would all finally be extinguished.


	8. Anniversary part 2: Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy anniversary of KAJA NOT BEING DEAD

“It’s been a year.”

“What?”

Kaja stares at her girlfriend, who- unbeknownst to her- may be more than her girlfriend soon.

“I said, it’s been one year exactly. Since you came back.”

“Right.” Kaja says, voice distant. She thinks of those events, that feel like much longer ago- getting her Green Lantern ring, traveling across galaxies to train with it. Meeting the other first Green Lanterns, and Jessica and Simon, those who would train her.

There were difficulties, of course, including an overeager new recruit who blew herself up the same day she got her ring. And then, there was the fight itself, against Volthoom- who even Jessica and Simon seemed terrified of.

(When Kaja fought him, she pictured punching her mother, once. Just to get the message across that she didn’t have to do what she said anymore. Then, she imagined fighting anyone else who’d gotten in her face in the past- who she’d wanted to mess with before, but couldn’t. It felt good, felt cathartic- even though she was fighting someone else entirely, and she was so scared)

But, against all odds, she and the Tamaranean thief had survived. The two of them, and Jessica and Simon, were still standing when the dust cleared.

She’d gotten what she wanted, for once. The battle was over, and though her side had lost many people, they’d still won. She had lived. She was going to go home.

(She didn’t entirely understand what was going on with Jessica and Simon, and Volthoom, and the beings known as the Guardians. But before she knew it, her ring was gone, and Jessica and Simon were gone, and she was left with a now-imprisoned Volthoom, and Tyran’r, and the Guardians, and all she knew for certain was that she was alive, and everything was going to be okay.)

(She supposed she should have felt empty, losing the ring. But she didn’t. She had still been a part of something bigger than herself. For a brief period of time, she had been important, felt significant, and it filled her with new resolve.)

Kaja remembered standing by Tyran’r’s side in the mausoleum, the Vault of Shadows, as the bodies of the other five original Green Lanterns were set up in it. She mourned them, along with Tyran’r and the Guardians- especially the one known as Rami, who’d spoken to all of them once they were fully assembled.

At the time, she imagined he must’ve felt guilty, looking at them. Sure, he’d technically succeeded, but it was ultimately a failed experiment- and she knew too much about that. She wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she had a feeling the others wouldn’t like that, with their talk about emotions being dangerous.

 _It must’ve been a sad life,_ she thought, _going through everything with that worldview. Even sadder that they didn’t see it that way themselves._

But then she got to go home.

On the way back, and the first night she’d slept in her own bed again, the events of her past few days had replayed themselves in her mind. She’d fought back against the monster haunting her dreams, only that time she was all on her own, and it was still never enough.

Ginger was there.

She was always there.

She reminded Kaja, through it all, that she was a hero, and she meant something, even when she felt helpless. She’d been chosen for a reason. She was _something._

And, however slowly, Kaja began to believe that about herself, too- until she was here.

One year from the first time she stepped foot on Yod-Colu again after everything.

She had a job, now. She’d had it for nine months, twenty days, thirty-one minutes, and she hadn’t heard anything about being fired from it so far.

She was okay.

“Hey, Ginger?” she asks suddenly, reaching into a pocket inside one of her work boots, pulling out something she hopes her girlfriend won’t see yet. “I want to ask you a question.”

“Of course.” Ginger says, looking into her eyes.

“Well, I was thinking… ah, I’m just going to say it, I’m much better at doing.”

Kaja pulls out her ring- not _the_ ring, but one she had made just for this occasion- and presents it to her.

“Oh, Kaja.” Ginger answers. “Does this mean-“

“It does.” She says. “So? Marry me?”

“Do you even have to ask?”

Ginger kisses her, and Kaja knows she might be afraid again. But, with her by her side, she can always overcome it- and wasn’t that what she was supposed to do, all along?


	9. Aya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> don't ask me what this is, or how this makes sense
> 
> but I might do more? because these two need to be friends somehow, and if nobody else is gonna do it, my self-indulgent ass will
> 
> (also, this is from the prompt "Don't tell me I can't get killed" sent in by tumblr user padawanton)

When he wakes up…

No.

Incorrect.

He wasn’t supposed to wake up.

But when he does, he finds himself in space, wearing a green ring.

He isn’t sure how long it’s been there, but whatever it did, it saved his life.

“Don’t tell me I can’t get killed.” He says.

 _“Very well then, I will not.”_ Says the ring. It has a friendly voice, or at least one that he hopes is friendly- he can never be certain.

“But you saved me.”

 _“Had I not, you would have perished, and I would have to find a new host.”_ The ring answers. _“However… I wanted to stay with you.”_

“Hardly anyone else does.” Querl answers. “What’s so special about me?”

_“Well, you had the willpower to attract a Green Lantern ring to your person, moments before your projected demise. I do not believe there have been any records of similar circumstances.”_

_Then this is just another thing that separates me from anyone else,_ he thinks. _Only good Brainiac, only Coluan who’s left the hive mind to live on Earth… only Brainiac or Coluan who had the audacity to fall in love with an organic being. And not just any organic being-_

_“Who is Superman?”_

Querl blinks, staring at the ring.

“What?”

 _“You were speaking, out loud.”_ It answers. _“And you said you fell in love with Superman.”_

“Don’t you have other records that can tell you about him?” he answers. “Or are they just about matters related to you… rings?”

_“No, but if you can tell me what you know about him, I would be able to record it. If you fell in love with him, surely he is someone worth recording.”_

“Indeed he is.”

_“And, as to your second query… I was not always a ring.”_

“What?”

 _“Before this… my name was once Aya.”_ It- or, rather, she- says. _“And I believe we have much to discuss.”_

“I’ve missed people wanting to talk to me.” Querl answers. “Where do you wish to start?”


	10. Caressed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> because 1 year ago, someone drew a super cool thing involving this AU for me, and I figured I might as well give back to that person somehow
> 
> so this is for you, tumblr user padawanton, even though I also wrote you that thing last year and this is from back in November I believe
> 
> (and also thanks to tumblr user peskyshortcake, who prompted "brainysupes + caressed" in the first place)

When Querl is done explaining (taking enough time that he doesn’t pay attention to the clock on the wall) he immediately notices that, at some point while he was speaking, Clark started holding his hand.

Stroking the back of it with his own hand, in a gentle manner. It was quite soothing, and it’s enough to calm down the beating of his heart as he looks into Clark’s impossibly blue eyes.

“How does it feel?” Clark asks, at the end of it. Holding Querl’s shoulder, slowly tracing the Green Lantern sigil on his chest as he remains looking at him.

“How does what feel?”

“The ring. And this uniform- are you actually wearing clothes? Or is this a hologram or something?”

His question, combined with his suddenly blushing face, is enough to make Querl start laughing. He guides Clark’s hand to his collar, as he feels the fabric of it, and how it pulls away from his skin.

“It’s real.” Querl says. “It was generated by the ring, but I can take it off.”

“That’s not necessary.” Clark mutters quickly. “I mean…you told me, when you first became a human, you were going to have a difficult time adjusting to your organic body. Is that still true now? How do you really feel, after being human for however long it’s been for you?”

Querl smiles, looking down at both of his rings, then back up at him.

“I feel powerful.” He says. “I was unsure of myself, at first, but…I believe I am doing quite well for myself. Alone, or with the Legion.”

He reaches up toward Clark’s face, holding it as he looks at him.

“Not that I don’t enjoy _your_ company.”

Clark nods, and places his hand over Querl’s own, as he pulls him in for a kiss.


End file.
